An 11-year-old Afghan boy who spent a year stranded alone in France following the Kabul airport bombing, has been reunited with his twin brother in London. Obaidullah Jabarkhyl said he was “tired but happy” after travelling to the UK.He had been in Strasbourg after getting separated from his parents and siblings during the Afghanistan evacuation amid the Taliban takeover in August 2021. His twin, Irfanullah, made it to London to stay with their UK-based family. The boys’ parents and sister remained in their home country. The twins are being looked after by their cousin Qamar Jabarkhyl, who took Irfanullah to meet his brother at St Pancras station on Wednesday. Speaking after his arrival Obaidullah said he was “very happy” to be with his brother again and was looking forward to going to school and making new friends. The pair planned to spend their first afternoon back together watching Afghanistan play Pakistan in the Asia Cup cricket tournament. Mr Jabarkhyl, a 28-year-old British citizen and engineer, criticised the visa delays that left the boys separated.(BBC)…[+]

This summer was the hottest on record in Europe, according to data from EU satellite monitoring. A series of extreme heatwaves and a long running drought saw June, July and August shatter the previous high mark for temperature. The Copernicus Climate Change Service said the data showed August in Europe was the warmest on record by “a substantial margin.” Globally, the researchers say August was the third warmest yet recorded. It will come as no surprise to anyone who experienced this summer’s intense heat across the continent that the temperature record across Europe has been broken by a large margin. According to data from Copernicus, this year saw a new record for both the summer as a whole and for the month of August. The summer was 0.4C warmer than the previous record, only set last year. August was a whopping 0.8C warmer than the same month in 2018.(BBC)…[+]

The Queen is under medical supervision at Balmoral after doctors became concerned for her health, Buckingham Palace has said. All the Queen’s children have gathered at her Scottish estate near Aberdeen. “Following further evaluation this morning, the Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision,” a statement said. The Queen is “comfortable”, it added. It is very unusual for Buckingham Palace to put out a statement like this – it is usually unwilling to provide a commentary on the 96-year-old monarch’s medical matters, which are seen as private. Her son, Prince Charles, is at Balmoral with his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. Her grandson, the Duke of Cambridge, other sons, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex, and his wife Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, arrived at Aberdeen airport just before 16:00 BST.(BBC)…[+]

The Solomon Islands’ prime minister has accused Australia of interference over its offer to help fund an election he controversially wants to delay. Manasseh Sogavare is seeking to defer the vote – due in mid-2023 – by seven months, a move critics say represents a turn towards authoritarianism. Australia says there is nothing unusual about its offer of assistance. Relations between the two countries have soured recently as Mr Sogavare’s government grows closer with China. Australia regularly offers financial and logistical support to Pacific countries for elections, including in previous polls in the Solomon Islands. But Mr Sogavare says it is timed to influence how MPs will vote on a bill to change the constitution. If passed, the bill would allow the election to be deferred.(BBC)…[+]

Police in Tennessee say a body found on Monday is that of missing heiress Eliza Fletcher. The 34-year-old mother-of-two was a teacher in the area, and the granddaughter of a local billionaire. She was abducted while jogging early on Friday morning near the University of Memphis campus. Cleotha Abston – a 38-year-old man with a previous conviction for abduction – has been charged with kidnapping and murdering Ms Fletcher. Her family issued a statement after the discovery of her body, saying they were “heartbroken and devastated”. “Liza was a such a joy to so many – her family, friends, colleagues, students, parents, members of her Second Presbyterian Church congregation, and everyone who knew her,” they said. “Now it’s time to remember and celebrate how special she was and to support those who cared so much for her.” Well-known in the community, Ms Fletcher was the granddaughter of the late Joseph Orgill III, a billionaire local hardware magnate and philanthropist. His company is now reportedly worth over $3bn (£2.6bn) and employs more than 5,000 people.(BBC)…[+]

Seven people in South Korea have died after they were trapped in an underground car park during floods caused by Typhoon Hinnamnor. They had gone down to move their cars but got caught by the incoming torrents. Crew said they rescued two people, who reportedly survived by clinging to ceiling pipes for more than 12 hours. Typhoon Hinnamnor, the strongest cyclonic storm this year so far, hit South Korea earlier this week.  Rescuers had to wade through metres of brown water to enter the almost completely submerged basement on Tuesday night. According to news site Yonhap, all nine people were residents of an apartment building who had earlier on Tuesday morning been told by the management office to move their cars from the car park.(BBC)…[+]

Kenya’s Supreme Court has ruled that William Ruto was properly elected president, dismissing several petitions seeking to annul the result of the 9 August election. His rival, Raila Odinga, and others had alleged there had been massive fraud. But in a scathing ruling, the judges said some of the petitioners had falsified evidence. Mr Ruto garnered 50.5% of the vote in the closely fought election against 48.8% for Mr Odinga.

The 55-year-old will be sworn in as the country’s fifth president next week. Following the ruling, Mr Ruto said he would extend a hand of friendship to his political opponents, and praised the judiciary and the electoral commission for upholding the “will of the people”. Despite being the current deputy president, Mr Ruto was not backed by the outgoing President, Uhuru Kenyatta, who instead campaigned for his former rival, Mr Odinga.(BBC)…[+]

A Malaysian businessman at the heart of a massive bribery scandal involving the US Navy has escaped house arrest, the US Marshals Service has said. Leonard Glenn Francis, known as “Fat Leonard,” cut his ankle bracelet off before disappearing from his San Diego home and is now reportedly on the run. It comes three weeks before he was due for sentencing. He had pleaded guilty in 2015 to bribing US Navy officers in exchange for lucrative military contracts. The US Justice Department said the scheme was a colossal fraud that cost the Navy tens of millions of dollars. Supervisory Deputy US Marshal Omar Castillo told news outlets that Mr Francis had cut off his GPS bracelet and fled from his home sometime on Sunday morning.(BBC)…[+]

Pakistani authorities are struggling to stop their biggest lake from bursting its banks after last-ditch attempts to lower water levels failed. Manchar Lake, in Sindh province, is dangerously full after record monsoons that inundated a third of Pakistan. Three breaches of the lake’s banks so far – to protect areas downstream – have displaced over 100,000 people. But it could still overflow and rescue teams are racing to evacuate many more people who remain at risk of drowning. Floods in Pakistan have affected some 33 million people and killed at least 1,314, including 458 children, Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Agency said. Estimates suggest the floods have caused at least $10bn (£8.5bn) of damage. Sindh province produces half of the country’s food supply, exacerbating fears that many will face serious food shortages in a country already struggling with an economic crisis.(BBC)…[+]